Do you like to draw bats?

Fridays are my favorite day of the week. I have a class at 7 am, and then I´m done for the day, so I have lots of time to plan and work on materials, and since I´m already up and running, I can be fairly productive, but today I want to take a minute to write this blog!
The beginning of a term is an interesting time of year for a teacher. You are still getting a sense of where your students are in terms of their language and study skills, "who" they are, what the dynamics of the group are, etc. And as a new teacher, I am still working a lot of things out as I grow into this role. It is a constant process of trying things, modifying them, and considering how they can be improved upon. (As my best instructors always taught me.)
When I woke up (a little late) at 6 am today, I honestly wasn´t quite sure what I would do for my 7 am class. I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about how to make sure my teaching is truly reflective of my philosophy, despite the inevitable frustrations of a poorly designed syllabus and a course packet that does not provide much in the way of interactive or student-centered activites (making my job all the more difficult).
As a teacher, I aim for my students to be active participants in their own learning and I want them to generate their own language as much as possible. I also want them to be comfortable using English with each other and to learn from their errors. That said, the other day we did a "Find Someone Who..." activity which requires students to mingle and ask each other questions, writing down the names of people who fit certain descriptions (For example, Find someone who speaks Maya.) This exercise is fun, interactive, and requires students to use the language. It´s a classic. That day for their homework, I asked them to each write their own description. Today, I "recycled" a bit. I had them work in groups of 3 to correct their errors and use their descriptions to form questions. Then, as a class, we wrote down all the descriptions and questions, which brought up some important grammatical points that they need to review and allowed them to use and build on their collective knowledge, rather than just being recipients of information given by me. Their input also brought a level of fun to the class that, on my own, I can´t consistently produce. For instance, I would never have come up with the question: Do you like to draw bats?
For all the teachers out there, this is nothing revolutionary. It´s pretty basic. I am not an expert. I don´t consider myself a grammarian, and I still have lots to learn about teaching; however, I am creative. I am determined. And, most importantly, I received good training.
My next goal to incorporate more focused work on sounds and pronunciation in my classes. The students want it and need it, but I am not sure yet how I will present it...
I am looking forward to a three-day weekend. The past couple weeks have been rough, but I am almost fully recovered from my illness and subsequent allergic reaction. I´ve been eating healthily (I found swiss chard at the supermarket!) and sleeping adequately. This weekend I will have a chance to take it easy and to go see my friends in Yokdzonot.
I have heard something called "snow" has been falling in some places in the US, but I have to strain my imagination to remember what that is like. January is a beautiful time to be here in Yucatán...

Nuestra Madre de Candelaria, La Virgen María (same bells, different day)

I´ve been staying in the apartment of a friend the past couple of weeks, situated right next to one of my favorite parks in Valladolid: Candelaria. This time of year, though, Candelaria is a busy place. There is a misa (mass) every night, extending for hours on Sundays. There are clanging bells at dawn and lots and lots of hymns in the evenings (some droning, some sweet). All of this to celebrate Nuestra Madre, La Virgen María. The attendees of these worship services participate in singing and call-and-response liturgies, and they have a large, child-sized doll which they dress up in a white gown and transport around town, occasionally returning her to the church at Candelaria. I heard she even went to the Feria (the fair) the other night. (I haven´t gone to the Feria yet!)
The doll, as a focal point, is a bit odd for me and the songs are getting old, but I am thankfully already awake when the bells begin to chime in the morning. This morning, though, I was struck by the sight of several older gentlemen out in the park, sweeping up the trash. There was a large tree that seemed to have blossomed overnight with pink blossoms. The colorful strings of flags they have decorated the park and church with were blowing in the hazy breeze. What can I say? The tranquility of this early morning scene just started the day off right for me.
Tonight I have meditation, which will hopefully bring me to an even more profound state of tranquility...

Getting well

Today is my first day back at work after a four-day weekend...but it was not a mini-vacation by any means. When I initially went to the doctor a couple weeks ago, it was for a staph infection (yuk) and I was given some strong antibiotics. I took the antibiotics for about 9 days...and then my body began to react. Last Wed. night I went to the hospital with two co-workers because I had hives all over and I was feverish and itchy. Clearly something was not right! The doctor prescribed me an antihistimine which I bought that night and took immediately. I had her write me a note so I could miss work the next day if it hadn´t subsided, and good thing, too, because what she prescribed me with was a generic Claritin. Needless to say, you can´t treat a sulfa-drug reaction (which she correctly diagnosed) with hayfever medicine. When I realized this the next morning, I was glad I had a note to miss work, but I was feeling worse than ever. Later, I asked my friend Barbara to buy me some Benadryl at the pharmacy which she did. I knew it would at least take the edge off the itching. Just minutes after she arrived with it (Thank God) my friend and co-worker, Betsy, called to tell me she had just run into another group of the American doctors downtown and she told them about my case. Immediately, they bought me some meds. at the pharmacy (a cortico-steroid and some good, old-fashioned penicillin). They made a house-call, giving me explicit instructions on how to take the meds. and what to expect, and they even came back later that evening to check on me. It took about 18 hours, but the itchy hives finally subsided and my face stopped looking sunburned and swollen.
I stayed home on Friday, too, with a note from my American doctors, and the rest and recuperation were much needed. The itchiness was really starting to get to me, and I needed a lot of sleep. Never before had I had a problem with antibiotics, but from here on out I will have to be very careful not to take any other sulfa-drugs because next time the reaction could be faster and much worse. It was a scary thing to go through, and I just feel very lucky that I wasn´t alone. I have a few, really solid people here who I know I can count on.
Now I´m just trying to get back into the swing of things at work, and that´s taking a lot of energy. Lots to do! Planning, planning, planning! Because I´ve been sick basically the whole time (even though I didn´t necessarily know it), the first couple weeks of this cuatri have not gone quite as I expected; so I am trying to take things as they come now. My plan is to just take care of myself and not get too caught up in worrying about all the things that I think I should be doing. I am finding support for this approach through the wonderful book I am currently reading: Eat, Pray, Love. It´s perfect and it´s been bringing me lots of joy. I´m also getting acupuncture treatments and still going to meditation and Xi Gong classes. Soon, I´ll go check out the new yoga class across town...I´m setting my priorities straight!
On a school-related note, this week I am having my two Gastronomy V groups give oral presentations about foods they have selected from a timeline, tying the food in with the current unit, The History of Gastronomy. My Public Administration II students are going to get their next assignment: a Food Journal project. And I´ll be starting with my fourth group soon in my first fully online course for Public Administration V. But there I go again, thinking about what I´ve got to do.
On my road to wellness, I am also still trying to find a new place to live. But I am hopeful, because Valladolid is opening up in new ways to me day by day. The past five months here have not been easy, but I have a good feeling that the shifting energies are going to bring a new depth to my experience here.

Week 2

So far, the Yucatán sunrise (along with some really good coffee I bought recently) is making waking up at 5 AM not only possible, but also <gasp> enjoyable. I think that, although we´ve just had a couple weeks of a "cold spell", the relatively warm temperatures and early sunshine are helping to make the experience far less painful than I had feared. Also, because my life here is quite simple, I have the luxury of going to bed early (unlike during my chaotic grad school schedule). I am turning into more of a morning person with each day!
I have been trying to take good care of myself, too, because it turns out I got a staph infection in my travels. I was very fortunate to have found out about a group of American doctors who travel to Valladolid throughout the year to provide free medical care here and in the surrounding towns and villages. It was at their clinic that I received the correct diagnosis as well as free antibiotics to treat my ailment. ¡Gracias a Dios! It could have been very bad, had I not started the antiobiotics when I did... Ahora, I am feeling almost as good as new.
My classes are going well. I am enjoying my new students a lot and feeling more prepared this time around for several reasons. First, I now have a file of activities that I used last cuatri that I can fall back on in a pinch. Second, I have a more efficient system for making lesson plans and keeping track of my groups. Third, I am more secure in the assessment measures I have chosen and I am able to articulate to my groups what they will be working on throughout the cuatri. They seem to be responding well to the opportunities I am giving them to provide input on assessment criteria and syllabus topics.
But I´ll try not to bore you too much with my teaching rhetoric...The weather is warming up again and yesterday was particularly beautiful - sunny, 84 degrees, cumulus clouds...I took a LOOONG walk.
I am also happy to be meeting some very interesting new people through Betsy, another UNO English teacher, and through my involvement in a meditation group and a Xi Gong class every week. Among them are acupuncturists, linguistic anthropologists, energy healers, and a former NYC ballet dancer. My social life in Valladolid is opening up!
I am also doing some comparison shopping in preparation of buying a bike (finally!) and I am looking for a new apartment. The place I moved into right before I left Valladolid just wasn´t going to work out. Too far from town. Too no-frills. Plus, I just realized I need to live alone right now. I am too old for a roommate. : )
There have been very extensive renovations going on all over Valladolid, and they are almost finished with the park and the new streets. Everything looks immaculate and restored to its original colonial charm. I will try to get out and take some photos soon to post!
Be well...More soon.

First things first

I just finished my first class of the new cuatri and I feel like a kid who just took her first spring bike ride after a long winter. I was a little nervous to step into my Teacher shoes again, but everything went well and I can´t complain.
My first and only Monday class is a group of 2nd year Gastronomy students. The class size is smaller than my first-years from last cuatri and the group´s English proficiency is understandably higher. The real challenge this cuatri will be adapting to my new schedule of 7 AM classes 4 days a week! Starting tomorrow I will be arising with the dawn (which will hopefully become a habit that I enjoy). I have been "training" for it, though, and I am now pretty used to waking up at around 6 AM. I will want to give myself a little bit more time than that, but I have additional motivation because on Mondays and Saturdays at 7:00 AM, I am going to be attending Yoga and Qi Gong classes at one of the local B&Bs, given by one of the professors of Mayan Linguistics and Culture from UNO. I went to my first Qi Gong class on Saturday and really enjoyed the centered feeling I had for the rest of the day. The best part is that I feel like I´m finally becoming part of the type of community that I have been looking for since I got to Valladolid: a community of healers, positive thinkers, and soulful practitioners of hardcore gentleness.
More soon...